Enchanted Kingdom 2014: Back after 7 years

Sorry ha, EK lang ang kaya ng “travel blog” ko eh

March 22, 2014 — Having lived my entire life south of Manila, Enchanted Kingdom has always been part of the options for quick getaways—especially if we’re up for something a little more than mall bumming, but a lot less than a semi-impromptu overnight. The place is off-city so it’s definitely a lakad, it provides cheap thrills and group/family bonding scenarios, and you can be yourself without having to worry about anyone you know seeing you. For lack of a better term, you can go all out and be baduy—sling a belt bag balikbayan-style or wear man sandals with socks, for crying out loud. No one will care.

This may have been my 5th time to EK (6th, maybe). All I know is my last time there was in 2007; April 1, 2007, to be exact. My then-girlfriend, now-wife had a friend who had a Brit boyfriend. He had about 2 weeks here and we were tasked to fill the void between out-of-towners, so we mostly did doable-in-a-day, reachable-by-car trips. Hence, Enchanted Kingdom. I also remember this vividly because I was already blogging then, and I documented it photo blog-style. (Of course, I could’ve just said that.)

This trip, however, was kind of set upon us. We spent NYE (New Year’s Eve) at Crimsom Hotel in Alabang, and they had a tie-up. We got 8 full-pass tickets that were to expire March 31, 2014. I have 1 daughter and 1 wife (yes, 1); none from my side of the family could go (or wanted to go) so we auctioned it off to my wife’s mega-extended family. Besides, they had more younglings than our already-old family. It all turned out for the best and we ended up with a group of about 15—age ranged from 9 months to 34 years.

So, what is there to blog about an old theme park?

Nothing, really. Not much has changed with the park but there were some attractions that were new to me. More than anything, I just wanted to observe the current state of our only theme park. Degradation was to be expected; I simply wanted to know if it has aged well (has been maintained well).

Truth be told, and all factors considered, I had a hard time deciding whether to give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down (or an up yours). Not until our trip back home that I decided to give it an OK. If you’re very particular with colors—painted surfaces, condition of materials, rust, etc.—it’d be very easy to give it a fail. But, a big factor to the reversal of my sentiment was when we read that the park was to be closed indefinitely for maintenance. The condition of the park was one that was on the brink of a big maintenance cycle, and there we read it. Don’t get me wrong, the park was clean and still above average, it was just a little worn out.

Whatever, though. I just want to write. That’s my opinion, anyway. Let’s just start posting photos so I’ll remember what really liked and what stunk.

By the way, visiting Enchanted Kingdom as a tatay (and a chaperone, at that) is a whole lotta different. You get to ride the kiddiest of rides! Haha, nah, It’s just a whole lot tiring—with a lot of waiting, a lot of waiting for your turn, and a lot of riding alone. I’m all out for thrill rides so I had my solo moments.

The photos

A word of warning: there are 64 mo-fuckin’ photos here. If you don’t really know me or have better things to do, scram.

Waiting outside

And off we go!Quite a gloomy day. NOT!The old facade.Checking if baby needs a pass. Still free!I’m snacky. The heat affects the elderly. Besides, the rest aren’t here yet.Family picture, of course.My girls by the wizard.See? I didn’t lie about the Crimson Hotel-issued tickets.

Finally inside and the first few rides

Stuff that need repainting

On our way to the Ferris wheel, I took some photos of stuff that badly need repainting.This is the part that needs the most improvement.Quite dirty and weathered.

Wheel of Fate – the view doesn’t get old

So I guess we went to Wheel of Fate next. Check out my art shot! Damn!We were to board numero uno.Fucking damn nice art shot! You know it! Looking down to the bumper boats with water guns.I wonder what it’s like living beside EK. Some development right of EK (looking at EK).I swear this baby ain’t afraid of no heights! Kami pa ang natatakot para sa kanya.Ah, yes, this definitely needs repainting.“It’s the humidity!” – M. GellerI swear I wanted to steal one of these. LED, eh.Good ol’ Space Shuttle. I should be given an award for photography.Another development at the back of EK. Tara, let’s akyat-bakod to EK.

Space Shuttle – The Epic Selfie Series

Space Shuttle time. A roller coaster is a roller coaster. No matter how many times you’ve ridden it, it will never cease to thrill.But first, baby-sitting duties so my wife ride. So somewhere there’s my wife and her sisters and cousins.My turn. My only goal riding this was to take (what I’d hope to be) epic selfies.Yeah, fail.The slow, going up part so photo is clear.Rode with my sister-in-law who also did baby-sitting duties first.Sayang malabo!Yeah, “what the fuck” nalang ang masasabi ko.

Anchor’s Away, etc.

I wasn’t able to ride Anchor’s Away because we couldn’t separate our group to two batches. No biggie. I remember what that ride feels like and I know it’s just paulit-ulit na lula. Nothing lost.

Of course on our way to Anchor’s Away I manage to snap an, yes, you guessed it, ART SHOT of Wheel of Fate.Mega alaga duties for 3 babies. May kasama ako, don’t worry. And why’s my baby fixing a wedgy?? Baby!Just checking out faded paint, as always.Took a snap of the pathway that leads towards the entrance. I just realized we did EK counter-clockwise.Again, somewhere there’s my wife and her sistahs.Pa-cute, pa-cute nalang. May time, eh.

Up, Up & Away, etc.

Part of wanting to bring your baby to anywhere you go—diaper changes.People I don’t know.Wife, baby, and another pamangkin.One more time. Again, I skipped this. Wait, bakit parang puro sideline ako…

EKstreme – P*TA! with a capital P*TA!!!

Let me tell you something about the EKstreme drop tower—it’s the most heart attack ride I’ve ever ridden. And yes, I’ve ridden a lot of rides, at least more than the average person—US, HK, SG. Part of it’s probably because it’s my first time to do one of these drop thingies, but still…it sure is something. I rode this alone as no one dared.

Let me try to describe how it felt. It’s about 5 seconds of pure heart-pumping, all-muscles-flexed, eyes-shut-as-hard-as-you-can action. It’s not mamamatay ka scary, it’s just INTENSE. I’d do it again anytime, any day.

While waiting in line. I couldn’t even take a picture of the whole thing in one shot.I’m sure this nothing compared to the drop towers of the world, but it still is something—especially for a first-timer.This is how it looks like as you board, before going up.Camera testing. At this time I still thought I could take selfies during the drop—haha, little did I know.Maybe halfway up. You couldn’t really see where you are so the drop is all a big surprise.Still alive, still going up. The next, as they say, is history… BOOM!

Rialto, Flying Fiesta, Fun Kart, Disk-O-Magic, etc.

Okay, here’s the last batch of photos. By this time it was already getting dark, we were all already really tired and hungry, and we were just waiting for the fireworks because, well, you have to wait for the fireworks.

This, by the way, is Sam, my wife’s half-sister’s half-sister. She’s 100% Fil but does not speak an ounce of Filipino (not even English). Born and raised in Japan. Poor little girl could not understand anyone.We were lined up for Rialto when we found out my baby doesn’t meet the height requirements. We took those three’s bench.Corny daw, said the other who went it.Besides, ’twas already time for her once-a-day nap.This is baby Sab, one of my baby’s 2nd cousins.Oh, I really didn’t mind being left out of Rialto because I had other evil plans—go kart! Went solo, of course. Definitely the highlight of my day (along with EKstreme!)Rio Grande Rapids was closed for maintenance. We were hanging out on some tables at this time, planning how to maximize the remaining hour or so.Like I said, planning.

I want to share a little something that happened right about when the photo above was taken. See, I was already so hungry so I decided to buy one of their local boxed rice thingies. I love all things boxed rice; you can go as my wife, my sister, they will all attest to that in a second. I ordered some beef-flavored thingy (I have since forgotten). My experience goes something like this: hindi ako nasuka sa kahit anong ride na sinakyan ko, pero sa kinain ko, mutikan na talaga. Alam mo yung toyo at calamansi? Ibuhos mo yun nang wagas sa kanin tas lagyan ng konting karne. True story.

We all rode the Flying Fiesta. The most memorable part of this ride is still the “Welkom to ze Flaying Fee-es-ta” bit.They managed to squeeze in a kiddie ride before the fireworks display. This is Yin, mother of baby Andi, my half-sister-in-law.Then boom! It was really, really short. Did not really impress any of us.We all rode the Roller Skater, including baby.I managed to ride the last batch for the Disk-O-Magic after the girls’ turn. Again, solo. Anung magagawa ko, ako pinakamatanda e.2014.2007.